Last week I was in Amsterdam and went to an Irish pub called Mulligans where they have an Irish music session every Wednesday. I sat down and enjoyed lots of nice songs whilst drinking beer in its correct format i.e in a pint glass and not in a 25cl glass…
There I met Sophie Ter Schure who was leading the session with her fabulous voice. The next day in a last minute rush we arranged to meet up and record some tunes. We ended up heading towards the outskirts of Amsterdam beside a large canal/river. We set up on a little platform over the water from which a ferry takes punters from one side of the river to the other.
Halfway through the first song, Sophie realised how noisy the place actually was. She remembered it to be very quiet and said something along the lines “It’s funny how much noise there is when you’re listening”. I thought it was interesting because it shows our mind’s ability to ignore certain sounds and highlights the difference between hearing and listening. Thus, in the recordings, you’ll hear lots of extra sounds like babies crying, the ferry arriving and departing, aeroplanes flying low and many more. I think I’ve learn’t to enjoy these sounds. They make the recordings sound closer to the way you experience music in a live situation rather than in a acoustically sealed studio environment.
Anyways, we recorded quite a few songs on that platform and then decided it would be nice to record a few on the ferry! You can’t tell the difference in sound (except for the background rumbling of the motor), it’ll only be interesting when I get round to making a video or finding someone to do one for the project. (By the way if anyone likes video editing and wants to help out, please get in contact!)
After lunch on the terrace of a tall building involved in arty stuff and with a view over Amsterdam, we went to meet some of Sophie’s friends on the other side of town. We recorded another couple of songs in their garden after which I recorded her friends – more on that later!
In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the long collection of songs Sophie Ter Schure performed during a very nice and sunny afternoon whilst she was running away from her PhD work…
Record and Ride 